by Lorraine Monfils
Every day we receive phone calls and questions on the rebuilding process. People want to know if we have started the construction of the new building and when we will open again. This is going to be a long process and will not happen over night.
Our goal for this year right now is to have the ground work done, a slab poured and a structure put up. The building will not be complete this year unless of course we receive a very large and generous amount of money. We are still waiting three months later for the insurance company, which has become nothing short of a nightmare.
At this point in time we have raised $53,000 and are in hopes to get the $80,000 we were insured for from the insurance company. With all of that being said, realistically this is not enough money to have a new building completely put up but it is however a good start. It took us five years to accomplish what was destroyed in the fire. It was a slow process, but we owned it and did not have a mortgage.
We know at this point in time we are all emotionally and physically exhausted and that we cannot do the work by ourselves this time. We have made the decision to hire help and many people have stepped forward to donate their time. We have had electrical work donated by a licensed electrician; a construction company has offered to donate time to put a new roof on our mobile home. We have had our HVAC system donated. People have been so wonderful and their generosity and offers of help have not gone un-noticed. Each time someone donates something it brings us one step closer to rebuilding.
We have had a very generous person give a large discount on excavating the land for us, while a construction company has also offered to help us at a discounted price. This is huge for us and we sincerely appreciate it.
The groundwork has begun. Our intent is to build a new building to the right of where the old one was. We intend to move our used mobile home over to the old slab and fix it up just to give us a point of operation. We will move as fast as the money will allow. We remain diligent about fundraising since this is our main source of income. We have also been fortunate enough to have many others do fundraisers for us and we cannot thank them enough. This is a new chapter in our lives and we are so thankful to have everyone join us and support us. Our work would not be possible without you – thank you for believing in our mission as much as we do. We will keep you updated with our progress. If you would like to help with our new building, please call me at The Hollywood Pet Salon at 532-7487.
Update on Jack. Jack has gained 9 pounds in the three weeks that we have had him. He is growing fur and is one happy boy. Thank you to everyone that helped him and supported him.
Please join us for a bake sale outside Hollywood Pet Salon on 6-21 from 9 to 2. Thank you for your continued support and as always thank you for reading our column.
